Dump-car-door latch



" Oct. 30,1923. H s

DUMP GAR DOOR LATCH Filed Jan. s. 1922 Patented (kg 3 1%23.

, IAZZAIG r arena price.

HARRY S. HART, O35 CHICAGO, ILLIIIQIS, ASSIGNOB T NATIONAL DUMP CAR CON"- PANY, CORPORATION OF ID'ZAINE.

D UMPGAB-DOOB LATCH.

Application filed January 3, 1922. Serial No. 526,591.

To aZZ- whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY S. Hana, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago. in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dump-Car-Door Latches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to latches for securing the cargo-discharging doors of dumpcars, and has for its objects, to provide a latch which, while adapted to be mounted upon the side of a car above the door, may be moved to release the door, from a position of safety outside the path of cargo discharge and to attain this end without complicating the latching mechanism, or restricting its freedom of independent latching action when the door is thrown to closed position, or independent local manipulation of the latches when desired; also to pro vide an improved construction of latch that will require less effort to actuate it in releasing or reengaging the door and which may 2e manipulated to engage the door before the door is entirely closed and then force the door to its seat.

The invention proceeds upon the principle of operating the latch or latches which secure the cargo discharging door of a dump-car, through the medium of a lever ex tending from a latch to a point within reach of the operator, while occupying the position of safety; so operating the latches separately and independently where a plurality thereof are employed; having the latch or latches constructed to readily receive, and readily release a portable actuator (preferably in the form of a bar or leverage arm) and to fulcrum about their normal working centers, in coacting with the bar to develop leverage action; and so locating the pivot of a latch with relation to the cleat or other door part with which it coa'cts, that in the swinging of the latch, its engaging face has a movement, one component of which accompanies that of the door sufficiently to lessen the effort of release notwithstanding the heavy load upon the door, and to act as a seating force against the door, when the door is being closed.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, a preferred embodiment thereof has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing and is described in detail in the following specification; but this preferred embodiment is to be taken as illustrative of the invention rather than definitive of its scope, and it is to be understood that the invention includes any dump car door latch embodying in its organization one or more of the operative principles hereinbeforo stated, and the features or combination of features recited in any of the subjoined claims.

In said drawings- Figures 1 and 2 are, respectively, a side elevation and a vertical transverse section of a portion of a side-delivery bottom-dump railway car to which the invention is applied; and

Figures 3 and a are corresponding views. on a larger scale, of the coacting parts of the latch and door.

1 represents a portion of a railway car designed for carrying bulk cargo of sub divided material and discharging it by lateral delivery through a bottom opening 2. It has heretofore been proposed to close the discharge opening 2 of such a car by means of a door 3 hinged at 4; and to hold the door closed, releasably, by having a member or members of the door structure, such as its angle bar cleats 5, protrude be yond the vertical face of the car suiiiciently to be received by a latch or latches 6 pivotally mounted at 7 upon the side of the car and swinging in the plane thereof into and out of engagement with the cleats.

But in releasing latches so disposed, in the absence of long distance controlling means, it has been necessary to stand in the path of cargo discharge, and therefore, in jeopardy of physical danger to release the latches; moreover such a latch, as heretofore pivoted in relation to its coacting cleat, has been very difficult to withdraw from beneath the heavily loaded cleat.

' Now the present invention embodies in the construction of a latch of the kind referred to means which adapt it to eceive an instrumentality by whnch it may be withdrawn from its detaining relation to the cleat or other door part, by an operator standing in a position remote from the path, of cargo discharge, and to this end, forms a latch 6 with a bearing of suitable form, such for instance as the recess or socket 8, that provides a seat for a bar or leverage arm 9 that may be used to swing the latch upon its pivot 7, out of detaining relation to the door; and the presentation of recess'8,

to one side of the path of cargo discharge.

Recess 8 will preferably be defined by two spaced lugs 8, 8, cast integrally with or otherwise provided upon the latch, but the particular method of bringing the leverage arm. into bearing is of secondary importance.

Again, it has heretofore been proposed to locate the pivot? of the latch vertically over the toe, but this has so distributed the components of the latches releasing movement as to necessitate a lifting stress upon the cleat, in moving the toe from beneath the cleat, thereby adding so materially to the exertion necessary to withdraw the latch as to render desirable special operating equipment therefor. According to the present invention, this defect is remedied by the location of the pivot 7. That is to say, instead of locating said pivot in the vertical line of the locking position of the toe ofthe latch it is offset laterally therefrom in the direction of releasing movement, sufficiently to introduce a material downward component in the releasing path of the toe as suggested by dotted lines in Figure 3, and thereby greatly reduce the effort required to with draw the latch. Moreover, by so offsetting the pivot of the latch, the toe which first passes beneath the cleat in the locking movement, will encounter it in the dotted line position of Figure 3 before the door reaches its seat. Thus the latch may be manipulated to locking position with greater ease and may dog or chock of V of a leverage arm and resist relative angular movement of the arm upon the latch.

2. In a dump car, a cargo discharging door, a latch for securing'said door, and means carried by said latch for engaging a. lever arm and holding it against angular. movement relatively to the latch in the direction of unlocking movement. 7

3. In a dump car, a discharge door, apivoted latch engaging said door to hold it in closed position, and means carried by said latch to hold a leverage arm against relative angular movement thereon said means being positioned to-present the leverage arm at a position to one slde of the path of cargo discharge.

4. In a dump car, a discharge door, a latch engaging said door, means carried by said latch through which to mount a lever-.

age arm thereon; said means comprising spaced lugs located upon said'latch to provide a recess between them.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 29th of December, 1921.

HARRY s. HART.

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